Major roads normally bustling with motorists rushing to and from Surin and other lower northeastern provinces were eerily quiet on the way to Bangkok on Tuesday afternoon and into the night.
There were few vehicles, and most roadside shops were closed.
Some restaurants and food shops stayed open, but there were only a few customers waiting outside them for takeaway orders to be filled. No customers were eating at the shops - either inside or outside.
On some roads, checkpoints were set up on both inbound and outbound lanes.
The quiet came after Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha declared an emergency nationwide and introduced new measures to combat coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) from March 26, urging people to stay at home, prohibiting public gatherings and banning the entry of foreigners.
Police manning a checkpoint in Prasat district of Surin province were stopping vehicles. Instead of asking drivers to show their licence, as usual, officers were asking, “Where are you coming from and where are you going?’’ -- and looking around inside the cars while waiting for a reply. If the answer was satisfactory, motorists were allowed to pass.
My son and I were among the travellers along the route on Tuesday. We were on our way back to Bangkok after attending funeral rites for my father in Surin province.
At Nong Bunmak checkpoint in Nakhon Ratchasima, police, health officials and volunteers were lined up, signalling all motorists to stop. No driving licences were asked for. There was also no testing drivers for alcohol. (continues below)
Officials manning a Covid-19 screening checkpoint in Nong Bunmak district of Nakhon Ratchasima check body temperature of motorists passing the route on March 31. (Photo by Nittaya Nattayai)
The officers asked people in the vehicles to get out and walk to a roadside tent being used as a Covid-19 screening point. Chairs were arranged in rows, but travellers were asked to keep their distance from each another. All wore face masks.
Officials, armed with hand scanners checked people's body temperature, and they were then called on one by one to explain where they were going, and why.
Those whose body temperature registered as normal were allowed to continue their journey - but only after checkpoint staff made them clean their hands with sanitising gel. A small sticker was then put on their clothing, showing they had passed the screening process.
We were stopped at only two screening checkpoints - one on an outbound-lane in Prasat district of Surin, and the other in Nong Bunmak district of Nakhon Ratchasima.
Petrol stations were not crowded, as they usually are. Most travellers were able to buy food at convenience stores there, and there were bottles of hand-washing alcohol outside them, with the message, “Please wear a face mask before entering’’ on the door.
But along the route to Bangkok, there were few vehicles. Only trailer trucks and oil tankers accompanied us on the 426km trip from Surin to the capital, and the odd pickup truck carrying goods. No interprovincial buses were seen. Our vehicle travelled alone on most sections of the road when darkness fell.
Everything was quiet and still - except the Covid-19 cases, which kept rising.
A bottle of santinising gel for customers' use, in front of a convenience store at a petrol station in Nakhon Ratchasima, along with the message, “Please wear a face mask before entering’’ on the door. (Photo: Nittaya Nattayai)
Vacant parking spaces at a petrol station in Nakhon Ratchasima. (Photo by Nittaya Nattayai)
